Elizabeth and Kyto stared reluctantly at the witch, dismayed by her question of forming an alliance.
"You were trying to kill us just a moment ago, and now you want us to follow you on your journey?"
"Naturally." Said Grimhild, gazing upon Kyto. "You attacked me because you believed I was a bandit, but now that's been proven false, hasn't it?"
The Cyrodel lifted his brow, unable to deny her words.
"...Yeah, I guess so, no bandit is capable of using Catastrophe Magic. They're known to be savages that can sometimes disguise themselves as your average magician, but their magic sucks."
Elizabeth glanced at Kyto with a befuddled expression.
"H-Hey, Kyto, you're not seriously thinking about joining them, are you? You're being a little incautious right now, don't you think?"
"Hmm..." He looked down in deep thought, until he relaxed his muscles, and took a deep sigh. "I don't see a reason why we shouldn't." All of the anger vanished from his body, leaving the Cyrodel relaxed, allowing him to form reason.
"I-It's too risky, what if she's a bandit that's trying to trick us!?"
Kyto glanced at the Kaizamei, sighing.
"Have you not listened to anything I've been saying this whole time, Elizabeth?"
"W-What?!"
"What sort of bandit knows Catastrophe Magic?!"
"I don't know!? Bandits are unpredictable, you can't trust her!"
"If that was the case then she would've robbed us by now." Kyto lifted his hand, staring at his bruised palm. "The only reason I was able to stop that Catastrophe Spell was from casting my own... but even that wasn't enough." He balled his hand into a fist, enduring the pain. "She's unbelievably strong, even with a fraction of her magical power, it wouldn't be wise to deny the offer."
Elizabeth repositioned herself from her fighting stance, scratching her cheek.
"Alright then, whatever you say, I guess I can trust your word on this." Crossing her arms behind her head, the Kaizamei appeared more moderate than before. "But if she does anything suspicious, then I'll show her a thing or two! Antimana is still coursing through her body after all."
Grimhild smirked from afar.
"Your Antimana was troubling, yes, but its effects are long gone."
"Huh? How is that possible?" Said the bewildered Liz.
"Anyways, let's carry on, join me before it's night."
Grimhild turned around, ambling towards the back of the carriage.
"Grimhild..." Jean faced the witch, realizing something mysterious about her.
("It's just like last time when I wasn't in my right mind; I stabbed Grimhild at Wyvernwood village. I was certain that she died, but Grimhild suddenly came back to life, as if she defied death itself. But that can't be the case.")
Staring at the mysterious witch, Jean contemplated her abilities.
("It was as if... she became an entirely different person altogether once she returned. What sort of mysterious power does she possess?")
"Jean, are you coming?" Asked the witch.
"Ah!" He snapped out of his thoughts, realizing Kyto and Elizabeth were already in the carriage. "Yeah, sorry!" Jogging towards the back, he hopped on, sitting next to his companion.
+
The Four Horses of the Apocalypse carried onwards, cantering through the vast wilderness with new passengers; Elizabeth and Kyto.
They sat in the back, awkwardly staring off in the distance of fields and grass until the Cyrodel spoke. "So... your name is Grimhild Yorgana?" He asked reluctantly.
"That is correct." Said the witch, munching on a pickle.
"And you're Jean?" Asked Kyto.
"O-Oh, yeah! My name is Jean Parolette, it's nice to meet you."
Kyto nodded his head.
"Likewise."
Elizabeth glanced at Grimhild, watching her eat a pickle in disgust. "How can you eat something so foul?" Grossed out by the smell of pickles, she covered her nose.
"You humans overreact about every small thing."
Kyto grinned with a rictus of contemplation.
"I don't know... usually pickled food is a way to preserve food for long periods of time. I haven't met someone who would willingly eat on a pickle by itself."
Grimhild stared at the two and took a deep sigh.
"If I wasn't in a happy mood, you two would be burned to cinders."
Elizabeth straightened her back, visibly nervous.
"I-I was just saying, pickles aren't my thing, especially their smell!"
Jean laughed at Liz's reaction as he unscrewed a jar of jerky. "Here, have some of these, it's jerky from Wyvernwood village." He extended the jar towards their faces, allowing them to get a good whiff.
"Ah..." Kyto was stunned by its aroma. "It smells delicious, what kind of jerky is it?"
"Oh, it comes from your average moose, it's pretty good stuff, I made it myself."
Elizabeth widened her eyes, drooling from the side of her mouth. "Moose? Heck yeah! Don't mind if I do!" Reaching for one, Grimhild suddenly smacked her hand, glaring at the Kaizamei. "Ow, hey, what's that for?"
The witch was grinning mischievously.
"Before you indulge in such a delicacy, how about you try a pickle for yourself?"
"W-What?!" Shouted Elizabeth.
"Here, go at it."
Kyto almost burst out in laughter but covered his mouth.
Grimhild extended her jar of pickles towards the wealthy girl, preventing her from having jerky unless she ate one.
"Eww, it looks gross... how can I eat that??" Seeing the green juice, and smelling its aroma was horrendous.
"Oh please, you're just a spoiled child who always grew up eating first-class meals in your mansion. Live a little and try one."
Jean nervously chuckled at the conversation while Kyto took a few pieces of moose jerky from the jar.
"Who cares if I grew up spoiled? There's no way in hell I'm eating something so nasty!" Said Liz, scooting away from the jar of pickles.
"Hey..." Muttered Jean, catching their attention. "Just think of it as Parmesan; it also stinks, but the flavor is superb. Pickles are pretty much the same! And the bonus part about them is they're crunchy and have the texture as cucumbers."
"It's like Parmesan? Well... I suppose if you put it that way, then I guess it's fine." Her disgusted face mutated into a look of curiosity, slowly reaching for the jar. "I just take one and eat it, right? There's no special thing I have to do?"
"Like what? Saying a prayer to the Alvamon?" Proclaimed Kyto.
"Oh shut up! Here, watch me do it!" Elizabeth was now determined.
Grasping a pickle, she pulled it from the jar, munching on crispy texture.
"Hmph." Grimhild smiled, waiting for the girl's reaction.
"..." Kyto was silent.
"..." And so was Jean.
They all watched her chew the pickle, waiting for something.
Anything!
"Ah!"
Elizabeth finally said something.
"So this is a pickle! Yeah, I tasted them on my burgers back home!"
"Are you kidding me?!" Yelled Kyto.
"...Are you braindead?" Asked Grimhild.
"Oh, well I guess that's fair..." Said Jean.
"Hey, why am I being jumped?! It's not like I open my burger to what's inside! You guys are acting like I can smell the pickles over the mustard and mayonnaise put on my burger."
"Hopeless..." Said the witch.
"That's one of the main ingredients on a burger, Liz!" Uttered the Cyrodel.
"Oh, seriously? Ahaha, well, I didn't know that! Whoops."
"You must've stayed cooped up in your house all day, doing whatever your parents told you without question." Said Jean.
"Yeah... I guess you can say that. I'm a Rozenheart."
"Eh?" Jean nearly dropped his jar of jerky.
"A Rozenheart?" Grimhild lifted her brows, bewildered at this discovery.
"Yes, it's one of the richest families in all Mortal Realms. I'm in the line of succession, where I'll become the family head after my father passes away. I guess being called a princess is more appropriate. Ahahaha!"
Grimhild glanced at Kyto, questioning him with her stare alone.
"It's true, she's the daughter of Boris, the head of the Rozenhearts. Me and Elizabeth are childhood friends, it's a bit of a long story..."
"I can't believe it..." Said Jean, slightly concerned. "Wouldn't someone like Boris send out the strongest men he could find in order to bring Elizabeth back?"
Kyto nodded his head, accepting that possibility.
"Yes, that's likely to happen, but Elizabeth herself is disowned by her family... they don't care much about her."
The Rozenheart smiled, masking her obvious pain.
"Yeah, they don't give a damn about me, but that's gonna change once I make my way to the Mythical Valley and make my wish to obtain magic."
"So that's where you two were going." Muttered Grimhild, visibly disappointed. "How foolish, a journey to the Mythical Valley is suicide. There are Ancient Dragons surrounding that valley with magic comparable to mine, you'll be dead in no time flat."
"We know that, but we have to try! With me and Kyto together, I believe we can do it."
"You have no control of your Antimana, Elizabeth, that's why you were unable to nullify my Catastrophe Spell. Imagine what a dragon, whose magic is comparable to my own, could do to you. And for you Kyto, you seem to panic a lot when it comes to battle. Your Catastrophe Spell was weak, and it could've been better if you had a level head against me. You two won't last a second."
Elizabeth and Kyto could only stare in awe from her observation, realizing Grimhild wasn't all that she seemed.
"You two will be traveling with me before you make your stop at Mythical Valley, is that clear? Unless you both want to die like a bunch of fools."
"...Traveling with you sounds like the safest option." Proclaimed Elizabeth.
"I couldn't agree more." Said Kyto.